The purpose of this research is to develop an efficient day-to-day resource allocation system for regional referral networks of special care centers and referring hospitals. This will be accomplished by: (1) development of alternative special care center assignment and transport dispatch procedures to yield more efficient utilization of special care resources and better availability of modern clinical technology to all patients, especially those in rural areas; 2. Evaluation of the dispatch procedures in a simulation model; 3. Incorporation of the successful procedures in an interactive computer decision support system and its application to an existing referral network; and 4. Evaluation of the cost effectiveness of the interactive system as compared to manual systems currently in use. It is expected that the results of this research will serve as a model for the development of special care referral networks as well as for the improvement of existing daily resource allocation decisions in established networks. Results can also serve as inputs to long-term planning for regional networks.